The export of 180, 000 barrels of crude oil per day from Nigeria was yesterday impaired as Shell shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), one of two major pipelines that carries Bonny Light crude for export.
The shutdown is also expected to affect the power generation, as the facility is also critical for continued domestic power supply through gas supply to Afam VI power plant.
Spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, who announced this in a terse message to New Telegraph, maintained that the line was shut down following a leak at Gio in Ogoniland.
“SPDC shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline today, July 11, 2016, following a leak at Gio in Ogoniland,” Okolobo said. “We are working towards a joint investigation visit into the cause of the leak, preparatory to repair of the line,” he added.
The joint probe of the leaks and corresponding spills is done with the federal government agency, the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
The Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) transports around 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the gas liquid evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation (Afam VI power plant) and liquefied gas exports.
The shutdown will affect the export of 180,000 barrels per day Bonny Light and worsen the power generation through hitch in gas supply to the Afam VI power plant. The other major pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), that transports Bonny Light to port was operating normally, several industry sources said. Local firm Aiteo operates the NCTL. Shell lifted force majeure on Bonny Light exports last week.
The force majeure had been announced after a leak was found on the NCTL on May 11. Nigeria’s oil production has recovered to about 1.9 million barrels per day, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, said last Friday.
Attacks by the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, had pushed output to its lowest in over 20 years. Exports of the Forcados crude blend, loaded from Shell’s Forcados terminal, have been down since last February following an underwater pipeline attack. Kachikwu said that repairs were expected to be completed at the end of July.
The TNP loop line project, according to Shell, creates an alternative route to avoid sabotage, bypassing an area where theft and illegal refining have been common. “In addition, the project will install monitoring systems to detect any intrusion or leak.
“The pipeline will not be completely covered to allow security patrol boats to quickly access all pipeline sections,” the company said on its website.
